Some of the country’s best high school talent will be showcased this Saturday night at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario with the first Academic All-American Basketball Classic.

And if names such as Carlos Lopez, Travis and David Wear, Garrick Sharman and Brendan Lane don’t ring a bell for the casual fan, perhaps Andrew Bock and Jordan Finn will.

Bock led Eisenhower High School to a state championship and was selected as Player of the Year. Finn is from Etiwanda and won various honors this past season.

Bock is headed for Creighton and Finn to the Air Force Academy.

This is more than two games (West vs. East at 6 p.m., North vs. South at 8), a 3-point and dunk contest. Event organizers have scheduled time with the players so that they may prepare themselves for not only the next level, but also life.

Players will tour the L.A. Children’s Hospital and attend a motivational speech by actor Denzel Washington.

Saturday’s event at The Bank is only the second basketball game since the Lakers opened the building last October. Hopefully this game will be better attended than most all-star games. …

Before Manny Pacquiao quickly took care of Ricky Hatton Saturday night in Las Vegas, San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino made its choice of who to sponsor. And it was the right pick.

San Manuel will sponsor Pacquiao, notably the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport in quite some time, in future bouts. It’s quite a coup for the local gaming establishment.

Seems as though Pacquiao is getting better, and quicker, as he matures. Hatton should join Oscar De La Hoya in the retirement parade after his defeat at the MGM Grand.

Pacquiao will be sponsored by the casino while motorcross champion James Stewart is being sponsored by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. …

Words I never thought I would live long enough to hear: “I was texting my secretary at lunch.” – Dick Bruich, Kaiser High School athletic director

Bill Cardosi, a football assistant at Kaiser, quickly added “yep,” anticipating the cries of “what?”

It was a statement that sounded so wrong, on so many fronts.

Bruich, who is stepping down from football coaching after a 43-year career, was undoubtedly the last grown man in the country to have a cell phone. He finally caved in as part of his new job as athletic director. …

Baseball coaches aren’t very familiar with final scores ending in a tie, but if it’s all the same, Chino Hills High School baseball coach Kyle Billingsley will take it.

On April 14, he and wife Carrie celebrated the birth of daughter Kadynn Renee Billingsley at San Antonio Community Hospital at 1p.m.

Kadynn’s numbers – her dad is a baseball coach after all – were 8 pounds, 6 ounces and 19<MD+,%30,%55,%70> 1/<MD-,%0,%55,%70>2-inches long.

She was welcomed home by siblings Alex, Ryker, and Cannon in addition to grandparents Alan and Cheryl Billingsley and John and Wanda Monger. …

It’s never soon enough to start building an entry for the XIX Chino Challenge, perhaps the most intense Demolition Derby in the area, if not the most lucrative. Sunnyside Promotions pays $3,200 to the winners, with second place earning a $1,000 payday.

Not a bad investment for a $100 entry fee, and whatever the car might cost.

This year’s contest at the Chino Fairgrounds is set for July 11. Mark Moya is the defending champion and he will try to join Rudy Haringa Jr. as the only other two-time champion. …

Michael Voigt of Chino finished second over the weekend at the 2009 U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) Single Stack National Championship at the PASA range in Barry, Ill.

He improved from his ninth-place showing in 2008 and trailed Rob Leatham of Mesa, Ariz., by 19 points. The field drew more than 255 shooters.

Single Stack refers to the model 1911 pistol used in competition, one of the most popular firearms among competitive shooters. …

News item: Police have arrested a man on suspicion of stabbing a friend in the Dodger Stadium parking lot after the club’s first home game of the season.

Reaction: Wouldn’t that be “an ex-friend? …

If it were not for bad luck, … Jim Long, our High Desert correspondent whose byline has been missing for much too long now, can’t seem to catch a break. On the other hand, he has.

Long recently broke his left arm, extending his stay on the disabled list a bit longer. We wish Jim and wife Judy the best in their effort to get back to deadline shape. …

On a personal note: This is no longer a day either my family or I look forward to. This day marks the three-year anniversary of young son Bryan losing his life in duty for his country in Afghanistan.

It is more than comforting to know his efforts have not been forgotten by his countrymen. His name is on a tribute at Auto Club Speedway; at the Patton Museum in the Southern California desert; on the Walk of Honor at the Fontana VFW Post 6563; on the Wall of Honor at the Marine Memorial Association Hotel in San Francisco; on the beach in Santa Monica and a highway in Florida and on a simple, but yet so meaningful, display at Dawn’s Barber Shop, one of his favorite places.

Bryan is in our thoughts on a daily basis and we are certainly grateful for the time we had with him.

The Brewster family has been very fortunate to have received support these past years from countless friends, acquaintances, colleagues and readers. On behalf of his mother Linda and his brother Scott, I humbly thank you for that support.

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